This is the story of a small town girls' entry into first, the world of glamour and then, the world of cinema. Born in Ghaziabad, a small town of UP, Lara completed her education in Bangalore, where her family had later moved to. She then joined the fashion world.

Winning the Annual Gladsrags modelling competition in her native India, Lara got the right to be the first Indian representative at the 1997 Miss Intercontinental pageant, where she bagged the first place.

Later, she was crowned Femina Miss India Universe and Miss Universe in 2000. Her performance at the 2000 Miss Universe contest, got her the highest individual score in any category in the history of the competition. This led to her appointment as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador in the following year, 2001.

After gaining recognition in the modelling world, Lara was signed for a Tamil film, 'Arasatchi' in 2002, but the movie released only in mid-2004, due to financial problems. 'Andaaz', her Hindi debut in 2003 was box office success which won her the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. She then appeared in a number of films, some of which failed at the box office and some of which were mildly successful. After that, 'Masti' , 'Kaal', 'No Entry' and 'Partner' were some of the successful movies that she starred in. 'Bhagam Bhag' in 2006 faired well at the box office. Lara acted in Shaad Ali's 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom', which released in 2007, for which her performance received mixed reviews .

The movie did not perform well at the box office in India, but was a hit overseas, especially in the UK. Her most recent release, Partner opened to a good response and was a hit.

The beauty queen-turned model has also been working towards the cause of HIV/AIDS awareness involving herself with several organisations that educate people about the causes and dangers lurking around AIDS.